Matchup to Watch: Georgia O-Line vs. Tennessee Tech D-Line

Matchup to Watch: Georgia O-Line vs. Tennessee Tech D-Line

Posted: Friday, November 06, 2009

By Marc Weiszer

The Bulldogs still rank last in the Southeastern Conference in rushing at just less than 110 yards per game, but they've had two of their three biggest rushing outputs of the season in the last two games with 173 against Vanderbilt and 121 against Florida.

"Florida is one of the better defensive teams in the country versus the rush, and I thought our line actually had a pretty good day providing some space for those guys," Georgia coach Mark Richt said. "I thought the guys ran well and broke some tackles. I thought we made improvements in that area."

Georgia should be able to move the ball on the ground against Tennessee Tech, which ranks 91st among FCS teams in rushing defense, allowing 173.5 per game.

"If we can get a good run game going, we definitely want to keep it up," quarterback Joe Cox said. "This will be another game for our line and backs to start another run game. We've had a couple of games where we've had flashes of it, but not really a full game."

Kansas State rushed for 296 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-7 win on Sept. 26 against Tennessee Tech. It ran the ball on 60 of 71 offensive plays.

"We watched the film on them, and it seemed like they ran the ball against them every single play," fullback Shaun Chapas said. "I was like 'Is this a running clip or is this the game?' I was told, 'This is the game.' They were just handing the ball off, handing the ball off, handing the ball off."

Georgia will start Caleb King at running back because he's ahead as a pass protector, but look for Washaun Ealey to get plenty of work as well.

"We had some youth at tailback and I feel like they've really grown up and really gotten better," Chapas said.

Tennessee Tech's biggest starting defensive linemen is listed at 275 pounds. Georgia's offensive line includes four players 300-pounds or more with 295-pound Chris Davis the lightest.

"They're bigger and stronger than we are," Tennessee Tech coach Watson Brown said. "We need to get our pads down and hang on. They're going to knock us around because we're not nearly as big or strong. We need to be patient."